How to Spend a Day in Decatur, Georgia.

Decatur, founded in 1823 and the second oldest municipality in Atlanta, is only a short distance from the heart of the city, but its variety of restaurants, small independent stores and very welcoming and close-knit community ring with a small town exuberance that should not be missed.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Money

1. Begin the day with a traditional American breakfast at The Crescent Moon, a '50s retro style diner serving popular egg dishes and delicious pancakes.
2. Shop around at unique local boutique clothing shops such as Squash Blossom and Boogaloos.
3. Browse through the work at one of several local art galleries like Hand South.
4. Get a caffeine fix at local coffee shop favorite, Java Monkey, which offers some delicious baked goods in addition to organic coffee and tea. You may even have the chance to hear some live local music.
5. Visit Salon Red on Pounce de Leon Ave. for a quality and reasonably priced men’s or women’s haircut and style. If you have a child in tow, visit the Salon Red Kids salon next door.
6. Visit the Old Courthouse on the Square, a popular spot for weddings. Inside find a welcome center with information about the area and the DeKalb History Center, which has changing exhibits and background on the history of the town.
7. Stop for lunch at The Brickstore, an English style pub with quality, inexpensive meals and an extremely extensive beer selection, which focuses on Belgian and British beers.
8. Visit the Decatur Recreation Center and choose one of six walking tour maps of the area, or information on local bike trails.
9. At the end of the day, drive out of the center of town up Ponce de Leon Ave. to the DeKalb Farmer’s Market. In this large warehouse style building, find groceries from all over the world at reasonable prices. Excellent produce, bakery, meat and cheese selections and an inexpensive hot food cafeteria and coffee bar, not to mention the packaged food and spices from all over the world, make this market a great stop. Be sure to bring a jacket; it gets cold inside.
10. Stop for dinner at the well-known Watershed Restaurant, owned by Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, serving upscale, regional Southern cuisine.

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not have access to a car or prefer not to drive, Decatur is completely accessible by the Marta system.